Said Highlights Coretax Disruptions, Proposes Extension for Personal SPT Reporting

DPR RI Commission XI member Said Abdullah has highlighted the importance of improving technology systems in tax administration to support increased state revenues. Said emphasised that the development of the Coretax system by the Direktorat Jenderal Pajak is a strategic step that deserves support, as it aims to create data integration and enhance the system’s ability to read tax obligations. According to Said, the implementation of Coretax has so far shown progress, particularly in strengthening tax administration capacity. However, he acknowledged that several technical obstacles have emerged since its initial rollout and have recurred recently. He assessed that before being launched to the public, the system should have undergone a series of thorough tests, from security tests and load tests to other technical evaluations. This is important to ensure the system is truly ready for use and does not disrupt services to taxpayers. “If usage disruptions occur several times, I worry that taxpayer compliance in reporting taxes will decline due to system issues,” Said stated in his comments, quoted on Thursday (30/4). Furthermore, he reminded that tax revenues are the backbone of financing government programmes and national development. Therefore, system disruptions that impact taxpayer compliance could potentially reduce state revenues, especially amid global economic challenges that also affect domestic conditions. Said also questioned the maintenance mechanism of the system, which he deemed inappropriate. He cited practices in the banking sector, which generally conduct maintenance at night to minimise service disruptions. “Why isn’t maintenance done at night? Doesn’t the banking world often perform system maintenance at night? Isn’t that a common protocol shared among institutions?” Said remarked. On the other hand, Said highlighted the situation regarding the annual SPT reporting deadline of 30 April 2026. He revealed that around 3.3 million taxpayers have yet to submit their SPT, even though the government has extended the initial deadline from 31 March 2026. In his view, system obstacles could hinder reporting, while taxpayers still face penalties if they fail to meet their obligations. Therefore, he urged the Direktorat Jenderal Pajak to pay special attention to ensure taxpayers can still report. “I hope there is attention from the Direktorat Jenderal Pajak on this, so that taxpayers can still report, for example by granting a one-day extension due to IT system issues,” he said. He added that, given that corporate taxpayer SPT reporting remains open until 31 May 2026, providing additional time for individual taxpayers would not pose a problem. “If Coretax is problematic, it shouldn’t disrupt strategic policy targets, so it’s best to postpone; the Direktorat Jenderal Pajak can just manage the technical timing, so that the number of taxpayers filing SPT can exceed 15 million and support state revenues,” Said stated.